So, you want to be a road warrior? Maybe your job has morphed into something where travel is now part of the fun. Or maybe travel is required to reach that InfoSec rock star status you’ve always desired. Either way I want to share some of the tips and tricks I have learned during my stints traveling for a living in the hope that some travel hacking will make things a little easier for you. First off, let me offer a sincere, “Welcome to the club”! In no time at all, you too will have the 1000-yard stare and be able to tell the difference between an Airbus A319 and an Airbus A319EOW by the number of life rafts and vests. This is an invaluable skill which you can use to impress family and friends at the next holiday gathering.

I’ve had a couple of different road warrior jobs. Both have involved flying often. In my first travel job, I was a field service engineer fixing cancer diagnostics equipment in hospitals and labs across the western United States. That job was pre-911 and involved flying to a different city every day, while usually only finding out my destination while driving to the airport. My second real road warrior job is the one I am in now as the Security Awareness Advocate for KnowBe4. In this role, I get to travel all over the United States to speak and work at cybersecurity conferences and similar events. While I typically only stay for a day or two at a time, this still involves a lot of travel especially at peak times of the year.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love what I do. The fact that I have numerous speaking engagements, have been repeatedly chosen to represent my employers and have done more articles and webinars than I can count, makes me proud. My successes in the InfoSec industry have allowed me to rise in my chosen career, given me a pretty decent personal brand and provides nicely for my family. However, getting there as well as staying there often comes with the unavoidable baggage (pun intended). And with multiple traveling jobs and years of experience, I’ve learned to spot certain patterns as well as where the ‘system’ is vulnerable. Here’s just a few items to get you through the airports, hotels and beyond.